Shackles
by benedict-san
Summary: Kagami Taiga considered himself a strong person, but the bruises keep coming and people are starting to ask questions.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know, I should be working on Fate and Taiga Cub but this story idea just popped into my head and I had to write it down before it disappeared.**

**Warning: Abuse and swearing**

**...**

_Kagami awoke to the annoying sound of his phone buzzing. _With a groan he turned over in his bed and tried to ignore it, but his phone was persistent. Muttering a curse he slammed his hand over his phone and grabbed it, glaring at the annoying device. He frowned slightly at what he saw.

He had a thousand unread messages and fifty missed calls, and whoever was doing this was still at it. His phone buzzed again in his hand and he rather hesitantly opened one.

_taiga please_

He sat up quickly, seeing that it was from his mother. He opened another.

_i'm so sorry_

_please answer your phone_

_he's coming_

_hide... please_

_taiga_

_taiga_

For some reason, his heart sped up. A new message suddenly appeared.

_i don't know how he found you, but he did_

_im so sorry i couldn't protect you_

_i tried_

_taiga please_

_answer your phone_

His mouth suddenly felt very dry, like he swallowed sand. He started to call his mother when another message popped up, this time from a unknown number.

_I found you, Taiga._

Kagami's phone fell into his lap. Was this some kind of cruel joke? What was going on?

Recovering from his shock he picked up his phone and read the message over and over again.

He jumped when he heard someone pounding on his door. As if in a horror movie, he pulled back the covers gingerly and began to creep to the door, his hand against the wall and his heart thumping in his chest.

The pounding continued. His phone kept buzzing in his hand.

_i'm sorry._

Kagami opened the door hesitantly.

His eyes widened and his phone fell from his hand, making a dull thud as it hit the floor.

The person at the door bent over and picked up his phone before holding it out to him, smirking. Kagami looked into the blood red eyes of his father, Fumiko Kagami.

"Hello, son."

**...**

**i'm sorry kagami :C**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews :D**

**...**

_"D-dad..." Kagami managed _to say. His hand twitched to reach out and take the phone but he was paralyzed with shock. He barely had any memories of his father, only seeing his back when he strolled out the door and left his mother. That, and the fact that his mother refused to tell him anything about him, saying that they argued too much. Kagami had seen the bruises but was too young and stupid to understand what was going on.

And then the anger hit. Rage filled him and he felt his eyes narrow and his fist draw back to punch his dad in the face.

"I wouldn't do that, Taiga."

Kagami didn't realize how intimidating he could be. The man looked _just _like him. The same spiky, unruly hair. Split eyebrows. Red eyes that made you stiffen with fear and unable to move. But Kagami had _never _looked at somebody like that. _Never. _The smirk his dad was wearing right now was sending shivers up his spine.

He felt his hand relax and drop to his side.

"I'm guessing your mother told you I was coming." The man opened Kagami's phone and brushed past him. Kagami hated how he felt his shoulders draw up as the taller man walked by.

He wondered why he didn't kick him in the gut and slam the door in his face. But right now his body didn't feel like his as he shut the door and turned around slowly to face his father who was relaxing on his couch.

"She always talked too much," his father continued. "Never knew when to shut up." Kagami bristled but said nothing.

"Why are you here," Kagami tried to say, but his throat felt tight.

Fumiko's eyes dug into his. The smirk grew into a feral grin that reminded Kagami of his when he was on the court. "I missed you, son." He stood up, towering over Kagami. For some reason, his eyes softened as he gazed at his son. "You remind me of your mother." His voice was soft, as if he was telling Kagami a secret. He hated it. "I wanted to find her first. Bring our family back together. But you..." He placed his hand on Kagami's cheek. It burned. He didn't dare move to smack it away. "You were much closer."

The first blow hurt the most.

**...**

**I think the next few chapters will be longer. I think :B**


	3. Chapter 3

_It didn't occur _until the next morning to Kagami just how he would be able to hide his injuries from his teammates and everyone else. Kuroko would notice. Coach would notice. _Everyone _would unless he could somehow hide the bruises on his arms and legs. Sitting up slowly he tried to ignore the pain that immediately pulsed on his side. He cursed a little, knowing he had a bruised rib or two.

For a moment he sat on his bed, not moving. He didn't want to go to school. He didn't want to leave his apartment. He didn't want to see his dad's face. But at the same time he _needed _to leave. _Needed _desperately to get out of here.

His fingers twitched. His dad - _Fumiko _(he refused to call him dad from now on) - had taken his phone away. He remembered lying on the floor, curled up in fetal position as his father went through his phone, occasionally making snide comments.

Kagami's head snapped up when he heard his door slam open. His father strolled into the room, wearing his trademark smirk. A smirk he wanted to terribly to punch off his face. "Good morning, my darling son," he cooed, turning the light on. "It's time to get ready for school."

He said nothing, staring at his hands instead. He jumped a little when a hand slammed down his head. "I said," his voice hardened, "get ready for school." Fumiko grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled, hard. Kagami yelped and forced himself to stand, every wound hurting in sync. The hand let go and instead starting petting his hair gently.

"Good boy," Fumiko whispered. "Your hair is so soft, just like your mother's." Kagami felt uncomfortable, feeling Fumiko's blood red gaze on his face, his neck, everywhere. The hand stopped and Fumiko turned around and left his room without another word.

Releasing a shaky breath Kagami began to get dressed slowly, trying not to bother his bruises. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. _Perverted old man, _he decided.

Kagami stared at his reflection in the mirror. Last night he had crashed into his bed, exhausted. Despite that he had woken up multiple times during the night in a cold sweat. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes were bloodshot as if he had been kept up with excitement like before a match. Kagami searched for some painkillers, only to find none. _What the... _He could have sworn he had some. He'd bought a lot during the times his legs had hurt so much he could barely breathe.

Walking towards the kitchen he saw his father sitting at the table drinking coffee, his eyes narrowed and cloudy, looking at nothing. When he entered the room, however, the man's eyes darted towards him immediately. He smirked. "Make your own breakfast." He sipped his coffee. "And hurry up, school starts in ten minutes."

Kagami almost choked on his spit. "W-what?" He searched for a clock and realized that _it was almost seven thirty. _Feeling absolutely outraged, his lips pulled back in a snarl and he marched up to Fumiko. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier, you bastard?"

Fumiko's eyes darkened and he stood abruptly, the chair's legs screeching across the floor. "Don't talk to your father like that, _son_." The words came out in a hushed whisper. Kagami felt his rage start to die down a little, replaced with fear. Fear gripped his heart like a cold hand and squeezed, his breath stopping for a second. The man towered over Kagami, glaring down at his son.

The feeling didn't last very long and Kagami found himself sneering, "You're not my father, _Fumiko._"

Kagami went to school that day with a black eye.

**...**

**I was going to make this chapter longer but then I changed my mind lol**


	4. Chapter 4

Throughout the day Kagami drifted in and out of consciousness. He really wished he had gone to the nurse and gotten a painkiller, his eye and ribs throbbing. Multiple times he had bit down hard on his cheek when the pain got to much, and he nearly split his tongue when someone bumped into him and punched the kid in the throat. Instead, he growled a little and glared daggers at the kid who squeaked and sprinted away.

Still, he didn't know how he would hide his wounds from Kuroko and his team.

It was hard enough avoiding the shadow who was in nearly all his classes.

Kagami sighed.

...

Kagami stood in the locker rooms, waiting patiently for everyone to finish changing. He avoided suspicion by hovering near the water fountains and pretending that he had forgotten his locker combination. Luckily nobody was too suspicious or worried, saying "Bakagami will always be a Bakagami." He rolled his eyes at the nickname and opened his locker when everyone was gone. He started to take his shirt off. "Kagami-kun."

Kagami jumped. "K-Kuroko!" His shirt was just past his stomach, carefully hiding the bruises. If Kuroko had spoken just a moment later he would have seen. His stomach tied itself in knots as he stared at the shorter boy. Kuroko merely tilted his head and studied Kagami. "Kagami-kun has been acting weird," he said softly, staring into his red eyes.

He yanked his shirt back down. "I was up late last night," he muttered. "I'm a little tired. That's all."

The phantom was silent. Then he smiled slightly. "Okay, Kagami-kun." His eyes gleamed. "Bakagami-kun shouldn't stay up late. He needs his sleep."

"Why you little bastard-" He was already gone. Kagami huffed in offense before changing into his gym clothes.

...

Everything hurt.

With every breath he took, with every move he made, everything ached and throbbing. When they took a break he had a hard time holding back his relief and nearly collapsed on the ground. He chugged his water, ignoring Kuroko's worried stares.

"Oi, Bakagami." He looked up into Coach's angry brown eyes. "I need to talk to you." His heart sped up and he got up slowly, feeling his ribs protest. He followed her outside of the gym.

Kagami tried to speak. "Coach-"

"Baka!" The clipboard smashed his head. He let out a noise of pain and put his hands on his wound. "Why would you play with your injuries?! You're making them worse!" She put her hands on her hips. "'I was up last night,'" she mocked. "Do you really think Kuroko bought that?" Kagami then realized that Kuroko had sold him out. Little bastard...

He then saw that her eyes were now looking at him with suspicion, her brown eyes scanning him. "What really happened?"

His mind raced to find an excuse. "It's embarrassing," he tried.

"I won't tell."

Kagami looked down. "Some guy beat me up," he muttered. "He thought I was trying to steal his girlfriend."

Riko frowned. She then sighed and tapped him with the clipboard. "Go home, Kagami."

...

By the time he got home, it was dark outside. The guy driving the bus was going rather slow, but Kagami didn't mind at all. He closed the door behind him softly and started to creep to his room.

"Where do you think you're going?" a voice snarled. Kagami stiffened. He turned his head slowly to see his father - no, Fumiko - glaring at him with his phone in his hand. "Just where the hell have you been?"

* * *

><p>I wrote this from my phone and I have a sucky keyboard so blame that xD<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm sorry :c  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>"Well?" Fumiko sneered. <em>"Are you going to tell me or not?"

"I had basketball practice," Kagami replied, putting his hands behind his back to hide the fact that they were shaking.

"Oh _really._" Fumiko was getting too close. _Way _too close to him. "I don't remember saying you could go to practice, _son._"

His black eye throbbed.

Hands were suddenly on his face. Fumiko forced Kagami's lips to purse. "You're too much like her," he whispered. "Too much like your mother. Too defiant." He then smirked. "Well, she _was _defiant until I showed her who's in charge." A bitter laugh. "A good cuff to the cheek puts a woman in her place, hm?"

Kagami said nothing. Hatred and fear pooled in his stomach.

Fumiko started to pet his hair again, so gentle it made him want to puke. "So soft..." A hand brushed over his cheek. Over his neck, over his lips. He shivered with disgust.

"I remember when I made love to your mother," he said slowly. "How she looked. How she _tasted._" Kagami stared at him in horror. "You have her face," he hummed. "I wonder if you'll look just like she did?"

Kagami couldn't control himself. His hand was suddenly in a fist, _he can't stop, _it's flying towards his father's face, _oh god what am I doing, _there's blood on his hands and it's not his, _what have I done._

White hot pain suddenly explodes in his ribs. He lets out a choked noise. He's on the ground, everything _hurts _and it won't end, it won't ever end. Somebody is screaming and he hopes it isn't him, hopes it's the bastard that did this to him, that touched his _mother, _a man who doesn't deserve to be a father, a man who doesn't deserve to look at her or at him.

There's a foot planted in his stomach and he pukes up blood, and it's over. He's on his back and there are tears running down his face and there's blood and spit and drool everywhere and he can taste it and there are too many colors.

It's over.

...

Aomine huffed in irritation. Where the hell was Bakagami? He was supposed to meet him here _thirty _minutes ago. He's tired of shooting the ball with no effort, watching it enter the hoop, normally feeling so satisfied and proud but instead a icy heavy feeling is tied in his guts.

A group of girls had been ogling him since he got here and he was getting tired of their annoying giggles. Their boobs were hardly big enough for his standards.

His phone vibrates and he picks it up without checking. "Is that you, Bakagami?" He huffed into the phone, throwing the ball at the hoop with no effort like always. His only answer was soft, labored breathing. "...Bakagami?" Kagami didn't answer.

_"Aomine." _Kagami's voice was so soft he hardly heard it. _"Help me. Please."_ And then the call ends.

* * *

><p><strong>Kagami died, the end, story over<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm not cruel enough to end the story here :) This story probably won't have any romance, just a Genfic with Overprotective!Gom if that's what you guys want**

**Warning: Cursing(minor)**

* * *

><p><em>Aomine realized that the cold sinking fe<em>eling in his gut was fear. He had been tapping his foot nervously and digging his nails into his skin. Tetsu had arrived a few minutes ago and sat in a chair, staring at his hands and ignoring everyone. Midorima and Kise were here too; the green haired teen was fiddling with his lucky item and Kise seemed to be holding back tears, one hand in his hair and the other gripping the bottom of his jacket. Akashi and Murasakibara had yet to arrive. When he found Kagami, unconscious and bleeding, he panicked and called Tetsu who must have messaged the other miracles.

It was tense and quiet in the waiting room. He kept on scratching and clawing his skin, remembering Kagami's blood on his hands and arms and how warm and sticky it was, how pale and cold his body was, how he thought he wasn't breathing -

"Aomine-kun." His head looked up into Kuroko's normally blank eyes that were instead slightly wet.

"Yeah, Tetsu?" Aomine struggled to keep his voice steady.

"...Tell me what happened." And he did. He told them that Kagami had called him, asking for help, how weak and soft his voice was. But he kept out how hard his hands were shaking, how the lump in his throat prevented him from saying Kagami's name, how much blood stained the floor and Kagami. He had wanted to ride with the paramedics to the hospital but he couldn't, he just couldn't look at Kagami.

There was a suddenly dark presence that made the tension in the room suddenly escalate. Without looking he knew Akashi was here with Murasakibara in tow, eating his snacks with disinterest in his eyes. But when he turned his head he was surprised to see the dark aura emitting from Murasakibara, with no snacks in sight and Akashi close behind him.

"Daiki," Akashi murmured, walking around Murasakibara who kicked over a trash can and a chair. He wasn't fazed at the giant's behavior. "I do hope this is a joke. What is this about Taiga being injured?"

Aomine shivered slightly. "It's not a joke, Akashi." He felt something warm running down his hand and looked down, seeing that his nails had pierced his palm and that he was bleeding.

Kise was trying to calm Murasakibara down. "Murasakibaracchi, please!" He was unresponsive and made a move to shove Kise away.

"Atsushi." Akashi didn't look at him. "Stop."

His eyes were wild and his lips were pulled back in a snarl, but when Akashi spoke he let out a soft whimper and slumped against the wall, face in his hands. Kise crouched down and patted his knees, trying to comfort him.

"This is my fault." His ears pricked and he turned to stare at Kuroko.

"What?"

Kuroko bit his lip. "I... I saw the bruises." His emotionless mask cracked slightly. "But I didn't do anything."

"Bruises?" Midorima repeated. He got a nod in reply.

"Only Riko-san knows," he whispered. "Just us. We didn't want to worry the team." His fists balled into fists. "Now Kagami-kun is in the hospital and we could have stopped it."

"Stopped what?" Aomine's voice cracked slightly. He had a suspicious feeling, a cold hand pulling his guts that told him he was _right._

"Someone is hurting Kagami-kun," Kuroko said at last. And then his face was in his hands and he was silent.

They were all quiet, mulling over what they learned. Kise suddenly broke into tears, and Aomine felt sick. Who would hurt Kagami?

...

Kagami's eyes snapped open.

Everything was bright, but there was no pain at all, just a dull ache in his chest and stomach. He closed his eyes.

He could hear voices, quiet ones, whispering to each other.

He then opened his eyes slowly. The room wasn't so bright anymore.

"Ah, you're awake." Two figures were standing on his left and right. Kagami noted he was on a bed and there was something in his wrist.

"Hello, Kagami-san." The figure on his left said with a smile. "You have a lot of visitors waiting for you, Kagami-san."

"Quiet," the figure on the right said sternly. Blinking a few more times he saw that the figures were people, one a nurse and the other a doctor. "Anyway," the doctor continued, "you're in Tokyo Hospital. Kagami-san, you have two broken ribs and multiple bruises." The doctor pulled down his mask and frowned at Kagami. "Were you in a street fight?" Kagami guessed the guy thought he was a thug. If he told the truth, though, Fumiko would be arrested and his mother would be safe. But if he didn't, Fumiko would hurt him and _keep _hurting him. But the idea sent a shiver of fear down his spine. He _can't. _Fumiko's blood red eyes, a direct copy of his, were drilled in his mind, promising hurt if he told another living soul what he was doing to him._  
><em>

"Yes," he rasped. "I was in a fight."

The doctor looked at him with disapproval while the nurse giggled.

"I guess those are your gangmates in the waiting room, hm?" His eyes narrowed at Kagami. "They're rather loud. I'm going to kick them out, they're disturbing the other patients."

Oh _no._

His rivals were here. The Generation of Miracles. They would see him lying in the bed, weak and bloody and abused and scared.

_"I can't believe this guy beat us," _Aomine would snort.

_"How weak." _Akashi would turn his nose up at him.

_"I can crush him so easily now."_ Murasakibara would drawl.

_"Leos ranked last today," _Midorima would say, clutching his lucky item._  
><em>

_"Kagamicchi, you suck now!" _Kise would stick his tongue out and pout at him.

_"You are too weak to be my light, Kagami-kun. Aomine-kun, where are you?"_

"I don't want to see them," Kagami breathed, clutching the blankets.

The doctor sighed. "Fine. Amaya-san, if you would please tell our guests to leave." The nurse nodded and hurried away. The doctor began to mess with the IV bag. Kagami watched him with a frown. "This will help you sleep, Kagami-san. Please, get some rest." With that the doctor left, closing the door behind him.

He realized how tired he was, staring up at the ceiling that stared back at him. The boring ceiling that was getting more and more blurry as the seconds ticked on.

...

"What the hell do you mean he doesn't want to see us?" Aomine snarled at the nurse who immediately shrunk back.

"Daiki, don't shout." Akashi smiled sweetly at the nurse, approaching her. "There must be some mistake, Nurse-chan." His words were laced with a warning.

"T-the patient d-doesn't want to see you," the nurse stammered out. "S-so I m-must ask y-you to l-leave..." She gestured limply at the door.

Akashi's eyes narrowed. "A mistake," he repeated calmly. "We wish to see Taiga, so I must ask you to _move._"

The nurse was nearly trampled as six worried teenagers hurried to Kagami's room.

"Wait!" Kise suddenly exclaimed. "What room is Kagamicchi in?"

Akashi sighed. He then noticed another nurse walking by and tapped her shoulder. "Excuse me, nurse-"

"I'm not a nurse!" The 'nurse' snarled, at everyone was taken aback by who it was.

"Riko-san." Kuroko approached his coach and held her arm. "I'm glad you made it."

The girl nodded urgently. "Come on, his room's this way."

* * *

><p><strong>Bakagami will always be Bakagami.<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Kagami's angst is not over yet, hehe**

**Warning: None for this chapter**

* * *

><p><em>Kagami was asleep when they walked in.<em>

"Oh my god," Kise whispered.

There were bruises and cuts all over Kagami's face. His brow was furrowed, as if he was in pain, and his jaw was tight. It all looked _wrong. _Kagami wasn't supposed to get hurt.

Kuroko had balled his hands into fists, a pained look on his face. Riko touched his hand gently. "We... we could have done something," she murmured, guilt laced in her voice. Tears filled her eyes and she wiped them away stubbornly.

"Who did this?" Murasakibara's voice was low and dangerous. "Who hurt Kaga-chin?"

Nobody answered. But _whoever _had done this, _whoever _had hurt Kagami...

When they found out who, they'd be _dead._

...

Kagami heard voices.

Low and quiet voices, whispering and murmuring.

He wanted them to stop.

He wanted to keep sleeping.

He was so tired.

His body hurt. _Everything _hurt.

He couldn't feel his toes or his fingers or anything.

He tried to go back to sleep, but the voices were still there, rumbling in his ears.

So he decided to wake up and tell them to shut up.

...

"Shuddup," a voice mumbled. "I'm tryin' to sleep."

It got quiet.

All eyes were on Kagami.

One eye was open, glazed over and barely open.

"Kagami?" Someone whispered.

He let out a soft sigh before closing his eye and going back to sleep.

For some reason, Riko was smiling. Her brown eyes narrowed and she spun around to face the boys. "We need to investigate and find out who did this to Kagami-kun. But in the mean time..." Her smile faded slightly. "We have to wait."

At that moment, the door barged open. A doctor stormed in and glared at all of them. "All of you," he snarled. "Out. _Now."_

_..._

Thanks to Akashi's... convincing, they were able to stay at the hospital a while longer before leaving. They were all hungry and reluctant to leave Kagami without any protection. Besides, Akashi and Riko had some very important phone calls to make.

Walking down the street, Kuroko pointed out the nearest bus stop and the group set out for it.

They walked in silence.

Something caught Aomine's eye.

Red.

Blood red.

He turned his head and his eyes widened.

"Kagami?" he murmured, eyes wide. Across the street and headed for the hospital was... Kagami? But he blinked and the figure was gone. He shook his head and kept walking, his heart thudding.

Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him.

Maybe.

* * *

><p><strong>i think this is a filler<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: thanks for the reviews C:**

**Warning: tiny bit of violence**

* * *

><p><em>Kagami floated in and <em>out of consciousness. Everything was hazy and blurry. He was starting to feel again, and moved his toes and fingers. The pain was still there, dull and aching, but he ignored it and instead tried to remember where he was.

He tried to remember but his head hurt and eyes hurt and this was the _worst _headache he could possibly have.

As his eyes wandered dully over the room he was suddenly aware that he wasn't alone. _Didn't those loud people leave? _he thought. _Who were they anyway..._

His eyes met blood red. Blinking slowly, Kagami remembered that _he _had red eyes too. Chuckling to himself he let his eyes trail over the copy. Red hair that was darker brown around the bottom, rather tall, split eyebrows, a bruise on his jaw...

_What?_

Kagami's eyes widened. He tried to sit up, but there was a hand on his shoulder. Letting out a noise of pain he slumped down. The hand slipped down his arm and onto his wrist. The wrist with the IV. The strange man held his hand rather gently in his giant hands.

"Kagami..." The man whispered. "My poor little boy... it's a shame you had to end up like this." He ran his hand over Kagami's cheek gingerly. For some reason Kagami found himself trying to squirm away, but he was holding his hand in a iron grip. He didn't seem to care about the IV and Kagami winced as it tugged a little against his skin. "You know I don't want to hurt you." The man's eyes suddenly darkened and he gripped Kagami's hand tighter. "But you hurt me, Kagami. Do you see what you did to my face? I have to punish you."

Kagami could hear his heart beating. Or maybe it was because the machine Kagami was hooked up to was starting to beep loudly, echoing in his ears.

"But not now." The man was starting to back away, his lips set in a cold smirk. He was starting to head towards the exit, where the faint noise of footsteps was starting to get louder and louder. "Also... don't forget that you belong to me, _son._"

Everything was getting blurry again. His head started to hurt again. His breath was coming out in harsh gasps. He tried to calm down, but his chest hurt and suddenly there were _hands _on him and too many voices and everything was just so _loud._

...

Aomine couldn't shake the feeling of unease as he tried to eat his food. He felt like he should be back at the hospital, by Kagami's side, making sure that he wouldn't get hurt again. He gripped his chopsticks harder. He didn't want to see Kagami covered in blood ever again.

"Aomine-kun."

He looked to his left to see Tetsu looking at him with what looked like concern in his blank eyes.

"Yeah, Tetsu?"

"Are you okay?" Tetsu actually looked worried, and Aomine snorted mentally.

"I'm fine." He looked out the window. "Just thinking."

Akashi and Riko were having a deep discussion in low voices. Murasakibara had been sulking, ignoring Kise's efforts to cheer him up with snacks. Midorima was poking at his food, his eyes narrowed.

Aomine had hoped Tetsu wouldn't continue the conversation, since right now he wanted to break something. He wanted to scream and kick and yell until he was tired and sore, and he didn't know why._  
><em>

Was it because of Kagami?

Aomine had his share of seeing his family or teammates or close friends (he barely had close friends. More like people that tolerated him) get hurt. On the court, it was normal. A accidental push or shove, nothing too big. His mother catching a cold and his father staying up with her all night to care for her. Momoi scraping her knee and making a big scene and normally blaming it on him. Little things. Little things that could be fixed, tiny problems that a bandaid or some medicine could heal.

But Kagami was in the _hospital. _

Yeah, he had almost punched Kise in the face when he learned he had accidentally smacked Tetsu, but the phantom was fine.

But with Kagami it was different.

The tiger wasn't supposed to get hurt. To the miracles, he had seemed invincible (despite his leg injury). They didn't know _why, _but seeing Kagami in a hospital bed covered in bruises and broken and _hurt _just made everything so _wrong. _

_Maybe I'm thinking into this a little too deeply. _Aomine just wanted to find the bastard who hurt him and strangle him.

Then a theory popped into Aomine's head.

Kagami wasn't just Tetsu's light, he was _their _light too.

When they had all been in the darkness, he had led them out and saved them.

And secretly Aomine was thankful. Thankful that he could finally play basketball with a smile on his face, knowing that there was someone who was his equal, and that he was right there. Right beside him.

He didn't notice Tetsu tilt his head slightly at the small smile on his face.

Aomine then faced Seirin's flat-chested coach. "Oi," he called. He had never caught her name -oh wait, it's Riko, isn't it? "Riko. When are we going back to the hospital?"

The coach turned to face him slowly. Her lips were pulled into a sweet smile, but her eyes were dark with promises of destruction and murder. "What did you say about my chest, Aomine-kun?"

_How'd she know?!_

"She can sense it, Aomine-kun," Tetsu whispered, wisely moving to sit beside Kise.

"Riko-san," Akashi said patiently. "Ignore Daiki. He's... not very intelligent. As I was saying..."

Aomine sighed.

The uneasy feeling suddenly settled into his stomach again. Glancing out the window again he wanted, now than ever, to go back to the hospital.

* * *

><p><strong>I should probably mention that this is after Seirin beat Rakuzan hehe. Sorry for the short chapter, I ran into a writer's block after trying to somehow put Aomine's feelings into words xD<strong>


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